Interview with Ernesto Ribeiro

I find it so easy to find inspiring photographers on 500px. Don’t get me wrong I still like browsing flickr but it’s sometimes a little tiring wading through all the BBQ snaps and what not before you find something that truly stands out. Check out today’s interview, and then check out more of Ernesto’s work.Tell us a little about yourself?

I’m 42 years old systems engineer, born and raised in Brasil. I have always lived my life very healthy, eating natural & exercising a lot. I surf & love to travel.I Believe in love and also believe it’s our only way out of this global chaos.

What inspired you to get started in photography?

Photography is pretty new in my life, I had a canon rebel xt i got in 2007 with a battery grip to photograph surf, which I didn’t do to much… Than my ex-girlfriend which is a Fashion Designer needed some photos for her first catalog asked me if I could help… When I got the photos on the computer everyone in the room got really excited with the rookie’s photos, specially my ex-girlfriend’s partners which happened to have a huge clothing company with several different clothing lines. So life ended up putting the monkey & the banana on the same place at the same time! At that point I decided to dedicate my time to shoot everyday on location in miami twice a day everyday, sunrise and sunset. One year later I was invited to shoot a magazine editorial, 8 pages and centerfold, pretty lucky huh? My first professional photo shoot was in February 2007.

What gear do you take to each shoot and what lens can you not live without?

I have a nice backpack I take to locations with 2 bodies, one body with ultra wide zoom lenses and the other with fixed telephoto, so I do not need to change lenses, avoiding sensor dust and accidents, not to mention the time saved.

I always carry a light meter, two 580EX II speed lights with some light shaping tools, light bouncer & radio poppers.
My favorite lens in the whole world are the 135mm f/2.0 L, 85mm f/1.2 L and 16-35mm f/2.8 L in respective order, can’t live without them!

How do you market yourself and has social media been an important part?

Mainly trough modeling agencies, models & magazines, a real people network the old fashion way. The social media helps me but not to much yet and I’m a little scared of privacy issues, I do not want to become digital I want to remain human, more and more people are “texting”, “facebooking” or “twitting” each other and forgetting the old fashion talking way… if your friend is sad trough a text you won’t feel it and you won’t help just because you don’t know… sad

What’s your favourite photo that you’ve taken and does it have any significance?

It marks a giant leap in my career; my first photo shoot was in February 2007 & this one in December 2007 but here I was shooting the first time with a professional camera, the 40D and some good glasses and strobes, the first time I felt I was on the top of my game, collecting from my work something I liked… that day i felt I was on the right path… When I posted that on flickr my friends felt the same way… It was an epic day! The model helped a lot, Jacqueline which is a friend of mine it is an awesome model.

Select a photo you have taken, explain how it was taken and how did you edit it?

Shot at the beach, Haulover Beach, it has a jetty at the end, did in the morning with high tide, so the place gets “flooded”, positioned the model against the rocks, east is on her back so does the sun in the morning, so I bounced the light with a golden reflector to give the right mood to the shot, on post processing just reduced the yellow cast and removed skin blemishes.

What processing tool do you use and do you believe in the camera doing all the work or in post ?

I only use lightroom and photoshop, I’m a purist so I only use the tools to crop, fix skin blemishes & enhance my photos.
I do not believe in morphing tools or changing the original shot entirely… I still believe in developing your skills as a
photographer. Leave the sci-fi to George Lucas or Steven Spielberg they are the best on it! May the force be with them!

Whats your favourite photography accessory other than your camera?

Creativity! If you don’t have a dog, go hunt with a cat!!! But I really like some light shaping tools for camera flashes.

Where do you prefer to post your photos online and why there?

Anywhere all the involved love photography so knowledge can be shared and you can learn from it.
I like Flickr & 500px so far, just joined couple days ago.

Do you ever get photographers block and if so what do you do to get inspired again?

I believe if you are happy you are inspired all the time, because everything has a purpose than, do what you love and the rest is just a consequence… never had one though… but every time I wasn’t happy I did not wish to photograph.

Is there anything you wish you had done when you first started in photography that would of made a difference?

Nothing

Any advice for new photographers wanting to go pro?

I don’t know… I’m not a pro yet myself… I guess shoot, shoot & shoot, only trough practice one can achieve perfection.